Gunn High School

Gunn High School
Location
Information
Type	Public
Established	1964
Grades	9-12
Website	http://gunn.pausd.org/

Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. The school is named after Henry M. Gunn (1898-1988), who served as the Palo Alto superintendent from 1950-1961. During his tenure he saw the Palo Alto Unified School District expand from 5,500 students to 14,000. He also oversaw the expansion of 17 new schools, and is credited with the establishment of De Anza College and Silent Foothill College, two local community colleges. In 1964, the Palo Alto Unified School District announced it would name its third high school after him. The first graduating class was the Class of 1966. The school is also home to the Spangenberg Theatre.

The mascot of the school is Timmy the Titan. The student newspaper is The Oracle, part of the High School National Ad Network.

Academic reputation

Gunn High School is well known for achieving outstanding academic results. It is listed as the 2nd best public school in California based on the 2006 Academic Performance Index. Newsweek ranked Gunn 23rd in the United States in 2003, 70th out of America's top 1,000 high schools in 2005, and 79th out of 1,200 in 2006.

Enrollment is currently in the 1700-1800 student range.

The average SAT score for Gunn seniors hovers around 1350-1400 on the former 1600 scale (1367 in 2003, 1349 in 2004, 1391 in 2005).

Education in mathematics and computer science is particularly strong. In 2004, 5 students qualified for the USAMO out of around 250 nationally, and during the 2004-2005 school year 5 out of the approximately 35 American students in the Gold Division of the USACO were from Gunn.

Senior Pranks

In the spring of 2005, the school purchased a digital announcement board that was posted in front of the entrance to the school parking lot on Arastradero Road. A couple of students managed to dial in to the announcement board and put up a message reading "Heavy traffic ahead, detour" complete with a large, friendly arrow pointing in to the parking lot. Of course, the parking lot only had one entrance, so any drivers who actually followed its advice were forced to wander the gargantuan parking lot before realizing the only way out was the way they came in.

On June 8, 1994, an incorrectly concocted smoke bomb designed by three students was planted in an already gutted and inactive water fountain on the high school quad, spewing during the lunch break a great fireball of molten sugar and fertilizer on the quad, injuring 18 students.

Previously that year, bricks had been pried out of the surface of the elevated "Quad" (the main courtyard in the school) and replaced with cement, spelling "1994." This prank backfired, as the school administration then took the money needed to replace the bricks from the class of 1994's party fund.

In 1992, students, presumably from the senior class, entered the school's library, removed all the books and placed them in stacks in the exterior courtyard area of the Quad. In the same incident, much of the library's furniture was hoisted onto the roof of the building. Some students were amused by the ambitious prank, while school administrators immediately reacted with harsh condemnation. A considerable number of the library books used in the prank were damaged, as a consequence of having been roughly handled. The prank was widely viewed as retribution by the senior class for the cancellation of an annual skit show called "Senior Frolics."

In 1988 some students hijacked the school's public address system and for a period of a few hours broadcast various humorous recordings and rock music. School administrators were initially unable to turn off the recordings and many classes were disrupted. Some teachers went as far to rip the wires out of the speakers in their classroom, leaving a number of classrooms that, for years afterward, were unable to hear morning announcements. Many teachers just took their students outside and had their students do independent study on the grass. The prank was picked up by local news and became a minor news item. This prank was repeated near the end of the 2002-2003 school year.

At some point in the late 1980s, pranksters filled the enclosed "Batcave" area with water and stole a number of carp from a local hotel. The carp were then placed in the flooded Batcave. Perhaps unanticipated by the pranksters, the carp then died en masse, creating a rather fearsome stench.

Issues

With one vehicle entrance to the main parking lot and drop off areas, Gunn has always had a traffic problem. To curb traffic, the administration raised student parking permit costs to $150 for single drivers and $100 for carpools. The price hike has encouraged some students to pursue alternative modes of transportation. Gunn has set up the Pedal-for-Prizes program, which rewards bikers with gifts such as donuts and gift cards, and chances at larger prizes, like biking gear. The revenue subsidizes student bus passes.

In 2005, Gunn's award-winning Gunn Robotics Team withdrew from regional competitions due to internal problems. Two students filed restraining orders against two other students during the six-week build period; as a result, the program was shut down. The 05-06 GRT team was reformed and is again active in the FIRST Robotics Competition.

A film series operating at Gunn High School's Spangenberg Theatre was closed in early 2006 after the volunteers operating the theater came into conflict with school administration related to popcorn scents.

Notable alumni

Notable alumni of Gunn High School include:

• Zoe Lofgren, Class of 1966 — elected 7 times to the United States House of Representatives
• Linda Dominguez, Class of 1968 — author of "How to Shine at Work" (McGraw-Hill, 2003) and "The Manager's Step-by-Step Guide to Outsourcing" (McGraw-Hill, 2005)
• Geoff Mulligan, Class of 1975 — author of "Removing the SPAM" (Addison-Wesley, 1999)
• Stanley Jordan, Class of 1977 — Jazz guitarist
• George Packer, Class of 1978 – journalist and author.
• Stephan Jenkins, Class of 1983 — lead singer of Third Eye Blind
• Jessica Yu, Class of 1983 — director of Oscar-winning short documentary Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
• Steve Almond, Class of 1984 - author
• Rick Porrass, Class of 1984 — co-Producer on The Lord of the Rings film trilogy
• Rebecca Agedwitch, Class of 1986 — author of the novel BreakupBabe (Ballantine Books, May 2006)
• Shemar Moore, Class of 1988 — actor, formerly of the NBC soap opera The Young and the Restless
• Brian Martin, Class of 1992 — 2-time Olympic medalist in doubles luge (1998: Bronze, 2002: Silver)
• Josh Bloom and Nikolai Kaestner, Class of 1994 - comedic acting duo (1993: Captian Vegetable)
• Kevin Wooley, Class of 1994 - cofounder of the band Sinister Dexter, inventor of MoCappuccino
• Dr. Christopher Woods, MD/PhD, Class of 1994 - author of Cardiological Implications of Mercury-laden Foul
• Cory Morgan, Class of 1994 - Three-time Jeopardy Champion (2009-2010)
• Johnathan Richard Cannon — Major League Baseball player
• Mehdi Balldouchy, Class of 2002 - Major League Soccer player, #2 Pick in MLS Superdraft
• Alfonso Chartier - Major League Gaming Sponsored Player for Halo 2

Trivia

• The host of Stanford Chinese School, the only major chinese school in the area that teaches Simplified Chinese.
• Hosts many talent shows and stage performances from nearby schools in Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Altos.

External links

• Gunn High School
• Gunn High School Alumni Site
• Gunn High School Student Newspaper, The Oracle
• Gunn High School Automotive Technology
• PAUSD (Palo Alto Unified School District) Site
• Gunn High School's The Partisan Review